An exciting comic tells the children a story from the land of terra mineralia. Here, King Aquamarine has forgotten the combination to his treasure chest. The wizard Calcitus comes to the rescue and has to solve four calcite puzzles. The children help out and search for the solutions right next to the exhibits in the exhibition. What shapes does calcite come in? What colours does it come in? Does it glow in the dark? Only those who have correctly solved the calcite puzzles can open the treasure chest in the ‘Research Expedition’ hands-on lab and take a reward.

Calcite is one of the most common minerals on Earth. In the ‘Research Expedition’ hands-on lab, students from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg have set up lots of little stations where the girls and boys can explore the properties of calcite for themselves. These include hardness and streak colour, as well as density, which is determined using a density balance. In which rocks does calcite occur, and what can it be used for?

The summer holiday programme ‘The Magician Calcitus Shows You Calcite’ runs from 4 July to 30 August. During this period, the ‘Research Expedition’ hands-on laboratory is open every Wednesday and Thursday, as well as at weekends. The holiday programme is open to the whole family and can be started at any time to suit your own schedule. Registration is only required for after-school care groups. Please allow approximately 90 minutes for the session. 

Further information is available at the information desk (Tue–Fri, 10.15 am–3.30 pm), by telephone on 03731 394654 or via email at fuehrungen [at] terra-mineralia [dot] de.